Complicated Simplicity
by KateMarie999
Summary: Sparks have been flying between Helen Magnus and Nikola Tesla for over a century. And try as she might, Helen simply cannot ignore them any longer. LOTS of Teslen!
1. Introduction

_Hello fellow Teslen shippers,_

_What you should know before reading this fanfic is that I… well… I may not have seen every episode of Sanctuary. *dodges tomatoes* Yes, yes, I know, I suck. I did watch some Helen/Nikola episodes to familiarize myself with the show. This story was written as a birthday gift but I'm so pleased with the first few chapters, I thought I'd write this short little intro to whet your appetite, so to speak._

_The story in its entirety will debut on October 15__th__ and there you will get more information._

_~KateMarie999_

**Introduction**

Nikola Tesla leaned into his computer screen, staring at the numbers and letters as though willing them to tell him the answer he so desperately sought. He was so close to a solution, he could just feel it. The code was unraveling before his eyes… wasn't it? Perhaps it was his twenty-fifth cup of espresso doing that. He did notice that his gaze had become a bit more shaky.

"What am I missing?" he muttered to himself, tracing some of the numbers with the tip of his finger. "Come on, Tesla…"

Nikola was so entranced with his work that he didn't even notice a door open and shut behind him. A few seconds later, he became uncomfortably aware of a presence just over his shoulder. He spun around in his chair.

Helen Magnus, her face as radiant as ever, stood behind him, staring at the screen. He jumped, startled, but she didn't seem to notice. After taking a split second to compose himself, he smiled.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise, albeit unexpected." he said, crossing his arms.

"Have you been here all night?" Helen asked, still not looking at him.

"Unfortunately, yes. This code has proven to be a lot more difficult than I had anticipated." he replied, turning around to stare at it again.

"You seem to have made a lot of headway." Helen pointed to a section that Nikola had, thankfully, solved a few hours previously.

"Yes, that was a few hours ago. The patterns were fairly easy to crack. I'm having the most trouble with this section here." he said, pointing to the one section that had baffled him for the last three hours.

Helen stared at it for a moment. He thought he could see a smile playfully tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Nikola, have you gotten any sleep?" she asked rather abruptly.

"No. I can't be interrupted, not when I'm this close to cracking this code. I can figure it out, just… just leave me alone." Nikola waved a hand absentmindedly in her direction. "I'll let you know when I've got it figured out."

"You _really_ need to get some sleep." Helen said in an irritatingly superior voice.

"No, I always work best at night. You know this."

"You do realize it's seven o'clock in the morning, don't you?"

Nikola turned to face her. "Are you here to patronize me or are you going to let me get back to work?"

Helen finally smiled. "No need. I've got it figured out."

Nikola chuckled. "That's impossible. I've been working on this for three hours. There's no way you could walk in here, take one look at this, and figure it out."

"Nikola Tesla, you may be a genius but without sleep, you're completely useless. Now take a look." As Nikola turned his chair around to face the screen, she pointed to a section of the code. "This section is exactly like all the others."

"Preposterous, oh Helen, don't you think I'd have noticed that?"

"It's exactly the same but it's in _reverse_."

"No it isn't!" Nikola protested.

But a second glance at the code in relation to the others proved his statement wrong. Helen was indeed correct. After three hours, he hadn't managed to notice that glaring detail. Feeling a rare moment of embarrassment, he sighed.

"I think you're right." he said. "I should probably get to sleep."

Helen then did something completely unexpected. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began rubbing his back. Nikola was speechless for a moment and then closed his eyes, allowing the pleasurable feeling of her gentle caress to wash over him.

They were silent for a few minutes, her rubbing his back and him thoroughly enjoying it. He didn't say anything and she didn't seem eager to speak up.

"Now, don't you feel more relaxed?" Helen asked him at last.

Nikola nodded, still not trusting himself to speak. Then, as suddenly as she had started, Helen took her hands off his back and gently smacked his shoulder.

"Now get to bed." she commanded in a smooth voice. "I want my computer back."

"Ahh, your ulterior motive is uncovered at last." Nikola winked at her.

"Call it what you like, now go." Helen met his gaze and the two lingered for just a moment.

Finally, Nikola turned around and walked out the door. A few minutes later, when he was finally lying down on his bed and staring at the ceiling, his enormous mind began to think about a section of science he had never much liked. Perhaps the social sciences weren't as useless as he had thought. If, of course, he manipulated them in his favor. And after what had happened that morning, Nikola felt as though he had cracked a completely different code.


	2. Chapter One: Civil

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MISS POOKAMONGA!_

_Okay so it's not her birthday. Her birthday is in 10 days. So in honor of my dear friend, for the next 10 days I will be posting updates from this story at intervals I'll figure out soon enough. I warn you that I'm not as good a writer as her and I also haven't actually seen that much of Sanctuary (all of seasons 1 and 2 and then only the Tesla episodes after that). However, she does seem to have some loyal Teslen-shipping followers and I could use a few extra victims… I MEAN READERS! *innocent face* Anyway, here is update number one. Just so you all know, it is currently September 19__th__ so I got started a bit early. If anyone is OOC, I'm very sorry. Like I said, I am not that familiar with the show._

_Before I start the chapter, I'll post the episode I watched so I could write the characters properly. This bit of background may help you figure out why I write them in a certain way. Today it was __Resistanc__e._

_Best wishes from someone who doesn't like Sanctuary all that much but STILL ships Teslen,_

_~KateMarie999_

_P.S. My computer wanted to correct "Teslen" as "tussle" and that seemed oddly fitting._

* * *

**Chapter One: Civil**

Nikola Tesla was not known for his good timing. He wasn't known for his manners either. In fact, he wasn't really known for all that much (that fool Edison had taken care of that and it would take more than a girl's computer game to gain him any amount of fame*). But if there was one thing he was glad to be notorious for (even in a small social circle), it was his feelings for a certain British doctor named Helen Magnus.

For over a hundred years, the scientist never strayed too far from her. For the first few decades since realizing his passion for her, he had gone through quite the emotional ringer thanks to Helen's _other_ suitor (he didn't like to dwell on that idiot for too long**). But finally common sense had won out and Helen was now completely available.

_And completely mine,_ thought Nikola with a smirk. Their relationship up to this point had been, for them, as amorous as ever. That was to say, they fought far less than usual and could even be caught in the same room for longer than five minutes without any animosity whatsoever. In a century of friendship, this was probably the most friendly they'd ever been.

As a matter of fact, Nikola thought with an actual smile now, she'd even become comfortable with physical contact. She had placed her hands on his shoulders the previous week for a reason other than strangulation. He had been working late into the night up until the morning and she had actually come up behind him and _rubbed his back_ as she told him he needed rest. For Helen and Nikola, that was at least third base.

Finally after a week of deliberating and considering every single possibility that could result from his planned encounter, Nikola sat back in his chair, smiling to himself. Helen would be along any moment now. It was finally time to put what he had planned to work.

"This had better be important!" Helen exclaimed, throwing open the door without bothering to knock on it. "I left some very delicate research behind because you said this was urgent."

"Nice to know I'm a high priority." Nikola said, not moving.

Helen gave him an exasperated look. "So what is it you need?" she asked at last, crossing her arms and staring at him in such a way that Nikola thought she was probably trying to be intimidating.

"Oh Helen," Nikola sighed, standing up and slowly walking toward her. "Must you be so short with me?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "Just get to the point, Nikola."

Nikola paused for a second, still smiling in a way he knew was driving Helen crazy. "As you wish. I've noticed over the last few weeks that you and I have been… civil."

"Civil?" Helen narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes." said Nikola, walking even closer to her with a smug smile on his face. "Almost friendly."

"Nikola Tesla, if you don't get to the point or let me get back to my research right now, what I do to you won't be _civil_." Helen snapped.

Nikola chuckled. "Must you take the fun out of everything?"

Helen gave him an incredulous look and didn't respond. Nikola sensed that she didn't trust herself to reply for fear that she might actually hurt him. This thought made his smile widen even more.

"Very well." he said, now standing so close to her that he could feel her breath on his face. She didn't move away from him. "In light of our… civility, I would like to propose a social experiment."

"Why Nikola, I never knew you were so fascinated with the social sciences." Helen's face was now centimeters from his.

"Ordinarily I'm not, however this particular experiment has been on my mind for about a century." Nikola whispered into her ear.

"And what experiment is this?" Helen asked, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Well I thought perhaps we could venture into the outside world, as horrifying as that probably sounds to you," (Helen rolled her eyes at this) "and find ourselves a quiet place in which to have dinner. Alone, of course." Nikola's voice was barely audible now but she caught every word.

"So let me get this straight." she looked into his eyes. "You called me away from delicate and extremely important research to ask me out on a _date_?"

"Oh Helen, must we use such mundane terms?" Nikola reached up and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I would prefer to think of it as a culmination of a century's worth of unconsummated sexual tension."

He thought he could see her suppress a smile at this. Good, this was working. He knew she couldn't resist his charm. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, not breaking eye contact once.

"Am I to assume you will be paying for it?" Helen asked at last, finally looking away from him.

"Of course." he replied. "That seems to be the social convention."

Helen looked up at him once more and they stared at each other yet again. Silent stares were beginning to become a staple of theirs.

"Oh all right." she said at last. "This Friday at seven. And don't be late."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Nikola said, winking at her now. "I'll let you get back to your research."

"Yes well… good night, Nikola." she said at last, finally turning from him and heading toward the door.

"Good night, Helen." said Nikola, still grinning in that insufferably smug way.

But what Nikola didn't know was that the moment the door separated the two, Helen's face broke into a large, very genuine smile.

"Oh get a hold of yourself." Helen muttered to herself as she walked to her car. "It's one date. It's not as if this is going anywhere."

But try as she might, she simply could not deny the fact that her heart was still beating fast even hours after the encounter.

* * *

*There is, in fact a girl's computer game that prominently features Nikola Tesla and information about his life and research. You even play with Tesla coils. It's called Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device and Miss Pookamonga and I highly recommend it. It's loads of fun and it's not just for girls and it's also not as easy as you'd think.

**I couldn't remember the other guy's name and was too lazy to look it up. John something… or maybe it was Jack. Started with a J.

* * *

_This is actually the unedited version I wrote on September 19__th__. It is currently October 14__th__ and I'm reading this over again. It's astounding how much I've changed as a writer. First of all, I'd forgotten John Druitt's name (LOL) and second, I realized I was writing this while on hiatus from Pirate's Cove so my vast improvements as a writer really don't factor into it. This is a total blast from the past and I think I'm going to be completely silent on which chapters I keep as is and which I edit. So it's a fun guessing game for Miss Pookamonga! Guess when I did the October edits and what chapters I kept the same! I think it'll be pretty obvious but let's see how you do. _


	3. Chapter Two: The Chase

_Hello fellow Teslen-shippers!_

_This is part 2 of my birthday gift to the lovely Queen of Teslen (and also Queen of Angst), Miss Pookamonga. I must say, despite the challenge this presents, I'm really enjoying writing Teslen fluff. It's almost as fun as Hiccstrid fluff, maybe because it's so difficult. This is actually a story from the past as I'm writing this on September 20__th__ and this won't be posted until October._

_Episodes I watched for reference for this chapter: __Animus__ (yes, the Dobby line was hilarious) and half of __Awakening __(probably the most concentrated Teslen I've ever seen on the show so far)_

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Two: The Chase**

Helen checked her watch as she typed away on her computer. This research was so very important. If she didn't get it _just right_, everything would fall apart and she would have no one to blame but herself. But for some reason, she simply couldn't concentrate on her own mind.

"Stop it." she said to herself after catching her third spelling error. "You've gone on three dates with the man, it's not as though you've won the lottery."

But according to her leaping heart, she had. True she and Nikola had argued their way through two such dates to the point of driving home in stony silence but the third had been different. It wasn't as though either of them had acted out of character in any way but it was almost as though they were reading each others' minds. It was an odd connection, almost magnetic in essence. Whatever it was, Helen was eager to explore it further.

At six o'clock sharp, Nikola Tesla knocked politely on her office door. She rolled her eyes at this (she certainly didn't extend _him_ the same courtesy when the roles were reversed) and got out of her chair. Instantly, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back which she promptly ignored to answer the door.

"Why Helen, you look simply ravishing this… all right, where does it hurt?" Nikola said, putting down the flowers he'd just gotten her.

"How did you…"

"Always underestimating me, I see." Nikola said, that insufferable smug smile on his face again. "After all this time, I think I know you pretty damn well. Now turn around."

"_Excuse me_?"

"I said turn around. Judging by the way you're hunched over, I'm going to guess it hurts… here." He said, placing his fingers right on the sore spot on her back.

She let out a gasp of pain and he knew he had found his mark. He lightened the touch on her back ever so slightly and instead of pain, Helen felt a bit of relief.

"Now relax. This doesn't work very well when you're tense." Nikola whispered, now leaning over so his face was right next to Helen's left ear.

His gentle touch sent waves of relief up and down Helen's spine. Never had she known him to be so tender with her before. They stood in silence for a while, him rubbing her back and her shutting her eyes, allowing herself to feel the bliss, the _ecstasy _of being touched so sensually by the man she refused to admit that she was coming to love. He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the ear, tickling it ever so slightly. She smiled, leaning into it, not caring at all about putting up the wall between the two of them in this moment. The pain in her back was long gone but still Nikola rubbed it. She didn't want to tell him to stop. Instead, she finally faced him, leaning her head back a bit to allow him to look in her eyes as well. He leaned in… she could feel his soft lips inching closer…*

BANG!

"What the _hell _was that?" Helen ejaculated, reluctantly breaking away from him.

Nikola wordlessly pointed to a dent that had now formed in her wall. The two of them inched closer, unsure of what they would find. Helen reached out a finger and touched the dented wall.

"Ouch!"

"What is it?" Nikola asked, looking at her finger. "Did it _burn _you?"

Helen shook her head. "No. Well not strictly speaking. It's _cold_. Like touching dry ice."

Nikola leaned over to inspect it, coming so close to it that his nose was in danger of being burned like Helen's finger.

"Careful." said Helen, inching forward as though she wanted to pull Nikola back.

"Oh Helen, I wasn't aware you were so concerned about my safety." Nikola grinned at her. "But I know what I'm doing."

"It's astounding how often you say that only to be proven wrong." Helen crossed her arms.

"Yes, yes, your jocularities at my expense are quite amusing." Nikola said, waving off her comment. "It seems to be getting colder."

There was another loud bang which shook the room.

"I'm going to go find out what this is." said Helen, grabbing a gun off the desk. "You stay here, see if anything changes."

"Like hell I am. We're on a date. We're supposed to do everything together." Nikola protested, straightening up.

Helen rolled her eyes again. "Oh fine, just don't get in my way."

She and Nikola shared a glance for a fraction of a second before they exited the office, looking around to make certain that they were safe. The coast was clear so they carefully walked down the hallway, being sure to look around in all directions.

"You know, this isn't what I had in mind for tonight." Nikola said, leaning in close to her. "But I'm already having a wonderful time."

"Focus, Nikola." Helen snapped. "We'll have time for pleasantries when this is all over."

"Oh but this is so much fun already." Nikola grinned at her. "You, me, doing what we always do together."

"Arguing?"

"Well _that _and chasing down unexplained phenomena." he admitted, shrugging.

As they rounded a corner, they finally found the source of the disturbance. A monstrous creature, at least nine feet tall, with long tentacle-like hair and blue tinged skin, stood at the end of the hallway, not facing them.

"Oh bloody hell!" Helen said, flattening herself against the wall and pulling Nikola along with her (he wanted to keep going, the fool). "I don't even know how to begin to subdue that. How did it get in? What did you do?"

Nikola looked a bit offended at this. "Must you always assume I'm responsible for everything that goes wrong?"

"Well if it wasn't _you, _then what was it?"

Nikola shrugged again. "I don't know… maybe a disturbance in the rift? What matters is not getting ourselves killed."

Helen nodded. Suddenly the Abnormal, who seemed to have sensed their presence, hurled what looked like a shield of ice down the hallway. This left a dent in the wall it hit and shattered a vase.

"Well that explains what happened to my office." said Helen, more to herself than her companion. "If one of us gets hit, that could be deadly. Here, in the cupboard."

She grabbed Nikola's collar and yanked him into a rather dusty broom cupboard. She could see him smiling mischievously at her in the light streaming in through a crack in the door.

"Don't even start." she warned him.

"You know, Helen, now that we're here and we could die at any second, I wanted to ask you something. I would have asked you at dinner but I don't think that's going to happen now." Nikola whispered, staring pointedly at her.

"Can this wait?" Helen asked, looking exasperated.

"Well if we both die, I'll never forgive myself for not bringing this up." Nikola replied, giving her the most _irritating_ look.

"Fine, what is it?"

Nikola put up a finger to tell her to wait a moment as he searched his pockets. He finally found what he was looking for in his left shirt pocket. It appeared to be a small black box.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." Helen whispered, though clearly she wanted nothing more than to shout this at him.

Nikola opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. Helen, who was still feeling annoyed at him, gasped. It was _perfect_. The way it sent little rainbow reflections dancing on the walls of the broom cupboard made her heart skip a beat.

"Helen Magnus, will you marry me?"

She stared at him. On the one hand, this was the worst timing imaginable. On the other hand, he looked simply _adorable _(though she hated herself for thinking so) in the sparse lighting of the cupboard and the little rainbows on his face didn't help matters at all.

"Now, Nikola? Of all the times you could have asked, you had to ask _now_?" she asked, finally finding her voice again.

"Well yes, it seemed oddly fitting considering the nature of our relationship at present." said Nikola, a sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

Helen knew she couldn't argue with that. Thankfully she was saved the trouble by what sounded like several loud gunshots. Unable to resist the temptation, she extricated herself from the cupboard and peered around the corner. The Abnormal was taken down by Henry, who had apparently done what she, in her hormone-addled mindset, had not thought to do. He had hit it with tranquilizer darts.

"Well then, disaster averted." Nikola said, looking over her shoulder.

"I need a bit of help moving this thing to contain it… hang on… _her_." said Henry, looking surprised at his luck.

"Yes, of course." Helen replied but only was able to advance two steps before Nikola grabbed her arm.

"All in good time, my dear. You still haven't answered my question." he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What question?" asked Henry but both of them ignored him.

"I…" Helen stammered, staring at Nikola.

And for the first time, as she stared into his eyes, Helen Magnus felt her heart melt completely. Her agile mind was suddenly able to picture a future together, a future filled with passion and affection. She'd never gotten this affection with John. And Nikola's eyes said everything she needed to hear. _He truly loved her_. In an instant, she knew what her answer would be.

"Yes. Yes I will." she said, her voice shaky. She was desperately hoping that she didn't blush scarlet. "Now w-we need to get this Abnormal c-contained."

"Of course." Nikola, positively beaming now, walked forward and picked up the Abnormal's upper half by himself.

Helen grabbed the Abnormal's legs and the two of them dragged her out of the hallway, leaving Henry standing there, completely forgotten and hopelessly bewildered.

"Umm… you're welcome!" he called after them but they didn't respond. "No one ever tells me what's going on." he muttered irritably to himself as he walked away.

_As I said in the previous fic, I'm leaving some chapters as is and heavily editing some. Did I edit this one or leave it in its original version? Leave your guess in the reviews! Hope you liked it!  
_

_*For Pooka: ask me about this paragraph specifically. There's a story around it and I've been waiting for ages to tell you.  
_


	4. Chapter Three: Perfect Imperfection

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISS POOKAMONGA!_

_Yes, it really is her birthday! Wish her a happy birthday, everyone!_

_Thank you for the many reviews I'm sure to have gotten from you over the last few days. I don't know if they exist or not but I'm making an educated guess. Today is September 20__th__ (you're reading this in or after October)._

_Reference Episode: the rest of __Awakening__ and __Chimera__ (I hadn't previously seen Chimera and I liked it a lot, Teslen has to be one of the funniest couples ever) and then I kind of got on a Sanctuary kick and watched __Sanctuary For None__ parts 1 and 2 before I could stop myself (did Biggie die? Because I'm going to operate under the assumption that he did for the remainder of this story unless I hear otherwise)._

_My previous statement was false. I watched 3 seasons of Sanctuary and only the Tesla ones of season 4. I'd forgotten about that because it was 2 years ago, I believe. _

_DISCLAIMER: I am not married and have never gotten married and even if I did, I wouldn't do it the way Helen and Nikola do in this chapter so if there are any inaccuracies, I apologize._

_~KateMarie999_

**Chapter Three: Perfect Imperfection**

"Absolutely not."

"Oh come now, everyone would remember it for years."

"I said no! Now give that back to me!"

Helen indignantly snatched a magazine out of Nikola's hands. He flashed her a look of great irritation as he continued to argue his point.

"But an electrical light show after the vows would be so very… us." Nikola protested. "Why on earth would we want an ordinary ceremony, that's mundane, that's _boring_."

Helen rolled her eyes. "It may be _boring_ but it's what I want. I don't want any ridiculous additions because you want to steal the limelight."

Nikola sighed and crossed his arms. She was being completely unreasonable. Sure, he had a tendency to enjoy attention and perhaps it was a little bit unhealthy but he knew it was a factor she found secretly attractive, even if she would never voice it.

"Well maybe it would be better for everyone, not to mention a lot less trouble, to elope." He suggested, his eyes flitting over to her and watching her flip through the magazine with frustration.

Helen looked up at him and for a moment, he could tell that she was seriously considering this suggestion.

"I was joking." he said, putting up his hands as though wanting to avoid all blame.

"I know you were but…" Helen's brow furrowed slightly. "You know, that would be a lot less of a hassle…"

A smile slowly formed on the scientist's lips. Helen's face split into a mischievous grin. Perhaps spontaneity was a good idea after all.

* * *

The Justice of the Peace, a man named Darrin Wentworth, had preformed marriages for many, _many_ people. Their faces were beginning to flow together in his mind and though he would often be greeted by couples he had married, he couldn't remember them any better than he could remember what he'd had for breakfast two weeks previously. But for years to come, he would often tell the story of the most bizarre ceremony he had ever done. The memory burned in his mind and he couldn't decide if it was good or bad. It was like a very strange, though not altogether unpleasant, dream. Sometimes he wondered if it _was_ a dream to begin with.

It had started innocently enough. The couple in question walked through his door. His first impression was that they were the sort of people he shouldn't cross.

The man was almost rigid, an expression of amusement on his face. A little while later, Darrin would be completely convinced that the amused look was a permanent fixture. The man vaguely reminded him of a college professor he'd had years before.

The woman was a completely different story. She had an expression on her face that seemed to switch between irritation and amusement as she observed the behavior of her partner. He knew that expression well, having seen it in many people before, but on her it seemed to be quite a bit more pronounced. It was almost as though she couldn't decide which emotion to choose at any given moment.

"Hello!" he greeted them cheerfully as they walked in.

"Yes, hello." said the man. "My name is Nikola Tesla, I'm sure you've heard of me."

Darrin was taken aback at the man's obvious arrogance. If he was being sarcastic, his acting was _very_ good.

"Nikola Tesla… are you in any way related to the scientist?" Darrin asked at last, vaguely recalling a science unit in high school that had mentioned the name several times.

"Well actually I…"

"He's directly related." said the brunette woman standing next to him. "Named after him, of course. His family is very proud. I'm Helen Magnus."

It was at this moment that Darrin noticed that the two of them were dressed similarly. The man, Nikola, was dressed in a gray suit and tie and, oddly enough, a vest underneath that. Darrin wondered if the man was a professor himself; vests seemed to be the stereotypical dress for those in that particular profession. The woman also wore a gray suit, thankfully a much more feminine version, and a decorative scarf around her neck the exact same color as her fiancé's tie.

While Darrin stared at the couple, taking in their bizarre decision to dress alike instead of in something more traditional, three people entered behind them. One of the three, a man with sandy blonde hair, was giving Nikola a look of deepest disdain. The other man, this one a brunette, seemed to find this whole situation humorous. The woman who accompanied them looked slightly uncomfortable, as though she had only known about this for a few minutes and hadn't had time to fully process it. Looking over at the couple again, he thought that it was definitely a distinct possibility.

"Well… shall we get started? Have you got the marriage license?" Darrin asked, still trying to remain jovial and professional; this was a very happy occasion, after all.

"Right here." said Helen, handing it over. "I want to keep my surname."

Darrin nodded; for some reason, this did not surprise him in the slightest. "I can certainly do that."

"Thank you." Helen smiled serenely and he got the feeling that very little bothered or surprised her anymore. "Now Kate, I believe you need to stand on this side of me. And Nikola, you're going to have to select a best man. Why you put it off to the last minute is beyond me…"

Nikola winked at Helen and Darrin had the feeling that they knew each other so well that the woman not only knew _why_ he'd put it off, she also knew he'd do it in the first place. The man looked at the two men they had brought with them, a small smile on his face. Both men looked slightly uncomfortable though the brunette retained the amused glance. He seemed to think that this whole situation was both hilarious and an awful lot of fun.

"I believe Henry will perform admirably." Nikola said after a very awkward silence.

The sandy haired man looked at Helen exasperatedly. Darrin was starting to figure out that this man was associated with the bride and was not very pleased with her choice in her romantic partner. "Are you _sure _you want this?"

Helen looked at Nikola and for an instant, Darrin could see that spark of passion that had led her to this moment in the first place. They smiled at each other and their eyes seemed to glimmer with a certain quality Darrin saw very few times in his entire time working as the Justice of the Peace- these two people standing in front of him knew each other inside and out; they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and still they loved each other.

"Absolutely." Helen reached out and took Nikola's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Will, go ahead and stand next to Henry."

The man named Will obliged and Darrin could sense that he was truly trying to be supportive despite the occasional irritated glace in Nikola's direction. Perhaps even this man knew the extent to which the nearly married couple knew each other and had seen this moment coming for a long time. In fact, the way everyone in the room was eyeing the couple, Darrin could tell that they were merely facing the inevitable.

Nikola leaned over to Helen and whispered "Did we really need to bring the children?"

Children? Sure, the woman looked just over a decade younger than the two of them but both men looked around their age.

"Legally, yes." Helen replied in a low voice that Darrin could hear.

"Do we even need to do this thing legally?" Nikola asked.

Helen rolled her eyes. "I would prefer to, given the nature of our occupations. Plus the tax benefits would be most helpful."

Darrin hadn't realized this right away but he had stopped to stare at the couple who seemed oblivious to what was going on around them. There was something oddly entertaining about the two of them. Usually the couples he married were starry eyed lovers (most of which got divorced months later) but not these two. It wasn't just that they were familiar with each other, though that was a rare quality in and of itself, it was something much deeper. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he knew intrinsically that they were meant to be.

"Ahh yes, thinking economically. You're not romantic at all." Nikola continued, not noticing that the ceremony had come to a halt.

"Shut up, Nikola."

"Shall we begin?" Darrin asked, a bit more loudly than he had meant because he felt as though he was interrupting what would soon become a very long argument.

"Yes, I'm sorry." Helen said, as polite as ever.

"All right." Darrin consulted his book. "Dearly beloved…"

"All this time, I've wondered what this would be like." Nikola whispered to Helen, completely ignoring Darrin's words. "So why did you finally agree to spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Well despite your obvious flaws…"

"_Obvious flaws_?"

"Yes, Nikola, we've all got them, don't be so indignant." Helen said, her eyes shut in slight annoyance. "Anyway, despite them, I know you've got my best interests in mind."

"Oh. I thought it was just the new brand of cologne." Nikola winked at her.

"I will admit that it was a contributing factor." Helen said, her eyes glittering with excitement now.

The two of them shared a lingering gaze. Neither were listening to Darrin's voice as he recited his required speech. Instead they focused on each other, the invisible magnetic force that seemed to draw them together closing in, as though making the two separate entities one. It was as if they were floating in space, the only two beings in the universe that mattered. Their eyes sparkled with passion for each other and neither noticed Darrin pronounce them husband and wife. They continued to stare at each other until Will cleared his throat rather loudly.

Darrin was looking thoroughly embarrassed for some reason. "I said you may now kiss the bride."

"About time." said Nikola and he leaned in to kiss her.

The moment their lips met, the newlyweds could tell that they had made the right decision. Even the bystanders, who weren't entirely sure what to make of the situation, could tell in that moment that this was meant to be.

_Well, what do you think? I actually went back over this story and heavily edited it. That's probably why there's a lot more descriptions than in the previous three updates. I've gotten better at it over the course of a month and now that I compare my work, I've noticed that it really does show. The original version was pretty terrible, though I kept almost all the dialogue from it because that wasn't too bad. Also this was once the shortest update. Now that it's been edited, it's at least 500 words longer._


End file.
